NTRES 3220

Global Ecology and Management

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2014-2015.

The subjects of biogeography, ecology, and biodiversity have patterns and processes that emerge only at the global scale. Recognizing the global importance of these patterns and processes is even more imperative in light of the tremendous increase in the human population size and the effects of humans on the Earth. This course is an introduction to the field of global ecology. Topics include comparative ecology and biogeography, community ecology, island biogeography, and ramifications of global climatic change.

When Offered Fall.

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: college-level biology and general ecology course.

• Demonstrate an understanding of the core concepts of global biogeography and biodiversity, including the geochemical and physical complexities of natural environments; the evolution and diversity of organisms; and, information flow and the role of organisms in ecosystems.
• Apply the basic concepts of ecology to terrestrial, marine and island ecosystems distributed across the earth's surface in the present, in the past, and in the future.
• Demonstrate an understanding of hypothesis testing in biogeography and biodiversity using historical as well as present-day data.
• Learn to quantify energy flow, water, and species ecology in terrestrial ecosystems.
• Analyze the major national and international policies enacted to manage species conservation.

View Enrollment Information